


Snail Mail

by Sandwiches_and_fandomology



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Pen Pals, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, Type One Diabetic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-09-30 04:03:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17216651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandwiches_and_fandomology/pseuds/Sandwiches_and_fandomology
Summary: Ben Solo and Rey Kenobi both struggle with Type One Diabetes. After both signing up for the Snail Mail Program with Beyond Type One, they get each other as pen pals. After months of writing to one another, they finally get to meet. They help each other as they adjust to college life and eventually find love in one another.





	1. Type One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This fic is centered around the relationship between Ben and Rey. There are also some major points that are related to Type One Diabetes. 
> 
> Type One is a serious life threatening disease that often is confused with Type Two. A small part of this fic is dedicated to bringing awareness to the threats of Type One. But, of course, most of it focuses on the relationship between Rey and Ben.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy!

“Wait, you’re diabetic, should you be eating that?”

Rey gives her classmate a sad smile. This was most certainly not the first time she had received that question, and it will not be the last.

“No Kaydel, I can eat this. In fact, I can eat whatever I want. I have type one diabetes, which is very different from what you are thinking of. Type one is a life-threatening disease that develops when the immune system attacks the pancreas. More specifically the cells that produce insulin. Because of this, my pancreas does not produce insulin at all. I have to do insulin injections and monitor my blood sugar to ensure that my life is not at risk. If my blood sugar goes too high or too low, I could go into a coma. You are thinking of type two diabetes, which is a late onset disease that occurs when someone does not take care of themselves, usually they do not exercise enough or eat well. Their pancreas still works, just not as well as it once did. Mine doesn’t work at all.” She stands, lifting her shirt slightly to expose her lower stomach. She points to the device attached to her skin. “This is my insulin pump, it acts as my pancreas by delivering insulin during all parts of the day, as well as allowing me to inject extra insulin when I eat.” She releases her shirt, next pointing to the monitor on her arm. “This is my Continuous Glucose Monitor. It tells me my blood sugar every five minutes and makes it so I don’t have to prick my fingers all the time.”

 

Rey sits back down, picking up the cookie that she had packed with her lunch, and taking a bite out of it. Kaydel watches her for a moment before muttering a quiet apology and getting back to her own work. It hurts her to think about how many times she has gotten this sort of question. Living with a life-threatening disease has definitely hindered her many times in her life, but she also has overcome so much. She takes the final bite of her cookie before turning back to her work.

 

Soon after the bell rings, releasing the students for the week. Rey quickly packs up her homework before putting in her headphones and deciding what she wants to listen to. She feels a little down after having to teach Kaydel about type one. She decides that Adventures with Finn is the right playlist to lift her spirits. She selects  _New Rules_ by Dua Lipa while walking out of the school. This was a playlist that she made for when her and Finn go on long drives around the city. She bobs her head while walking toward her street, which is only a few blocks from the school.

 

She steps with the beat and watches the sidewalk in front of her. After walking for about 10 minutes, she turns onto her street and quickly turns up her driveway. She looks and sees that Maz’s car is still gone, so she is still at work. She back tracks and walks to the mailbox, opening and removing its contents. She quickly sifts through it, finding that the last envelop in the stack is for her from Beyond Type One.

 

She decided that she wanted to sign up for their Snail Mail Program after she looked through their website and found that she could write letters to another diabetic around her age. She had signed up last month and had anxiously been waiting to get her pen pal information, checking the mail pretty much every day. Her step mother, Maz, had supported her decision to start writing letters to another diabetic. She even said that Rey would be able to trade information about college preparation and talk through college life once she moved.

 

“Oh my gosh!” she yells and runs into the house. She tosses the other letters and her keys onto the table by the door and jogs up the stairs to her room. She sets her backpack by the door and sits down on the edge of her bed. She tears open the envelop and pulls out its contents. She looks through the different cards that they gave her to send to her pen pal and checks out the stickers that they gave her. She finally looks at the slip of paper that has her pen pal’s information on it. They are from San Diego, California. Their Birthday is November 19th, 1998, so they are also a senior. They were diagnosed when they were twelve. Final, she looks at her pen pal’s name:

 

Ben Solo


	2. Too Many Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is another weekend with his mother out of town. As Phasma and Hux get set up in the house, Ben runs and checks the mail, finding that he has a letter from Beyond Type One.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a good break over the holidays! 
> 
> Here's chapter 2, I hope you all enjoy it.

Ben stands in line at the grocery store, waiting to go through check out. Leia is out of town again on government business, so he needed to pick up a few things to get him through the weekend. He is watching the back of the costumer in from of him when he feels a light tap on his shoulder. He turns around, making eye contact with the costumer behind him that had gotten his attention. It was a middle-aged woman, who was eyes his arm curiously before meeting his gaze. She gives him a small smile before saying:

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering what that device on your arm is?” At this, he looks down at his CGM, and contemplates how he wants to answer her question. He could tell her that it is for monitoring his blood sugar, and that he is type one diabetic. Of course, doing so would lead to her asking further questions and would make him have to explain his incurable disease to her. On the other hand, he could reply with a snide comment and turn back around and hope that she would get the message to leave him alone. He would pick the latter any day.

He looks back up at her, giving her a smug smile and says, “Oh this? It’s how I communicate with the mother ship.” With that, he drops his smile and turns his back to her. He hears her give him a slight gasp, but she doesn’t say anything more to him. He knows that he should have told her what it was, because doing so would be educational and maybe he would someday not have to answer questions such as this anymore. But he is happier giving a snide remark, even if it makes him an asshole. The costumer in front of him pays and leaves. Ben walks up to the cashier, giving her a small smile and a nod of his head.

The only good thing about having his mother gone all the time is that means Ben goes to the store a lot by himself to pick up what he needs for the stints of time when she is away. All the cashiers at this store know who he is, they know who his mother is, and they also know that he prefers not talking to people. The cashier, Qi’ra, tells him his total. He quickly swipes the credit card with his mother’s name on it and takes his receipt. He gives Qi’ra another smile before quickly bagging his items and walking out of the store.

 

He walks to his car and quickly places his groceries in the back seat before sitting down behind the wheel. He turns the car on and buckles his seatbelt before plugging his phone into his sound system. He ques up his favorite playlist and begins blasting _Immigrant Song_ by Led Zeppelin. He backs out of his parking spot before putting the car in drive and getting onto the main road. Once on the main road, he rolls down the windows and turns the song up. He cruises down the road, bobbing his head with the guitar.

 He’s driving his dad’s falcon. He always called it the millennium falcon. His mother had offered to buy him a car of his own every few months, but he always told her the same thing: it may be riddled with bad memories, but he still loved this car. He had many memories in this car, even if many of them were bad. He looks up from the road to glance at the gold dice hanging from the rearview mirror. They had been Han’s lucky dice. He reaches up and lightly touches them before turning off of the main road and onto their street.

 

When he pulls up to the gate that separates their driveway from the rest of the street, he finds Phasma and Hux sitting on the hood of Hux’s car. They are laying back against the windshield and basking in the warm sun that has broken through the clouds while blasting Queen from the stereo. Ben turns down his music and steps out of his car, leaving the engine running.

“What’s up nerds?” He asks as he steps up to Hux’s car.

“Who are you calling nerds, nerd?” Phasma quips and gives him a cheeky smile. She stands from the car, pulling Hux with her. These two are Ben’s best friends, and only friends really. They’ve known each other since grade school. They had both been with Ben after he got diagnosed. They are the only people that really understand how his mind works. Thy were also some of the only people who knew his diagnosis story, and the fact that his mother was never around anymore.

“Thank you, guys, for coming to stay the weekend. I swear one of these days my mother will be alright with me sleeping in the house alone.” Ever since he had been diagnosed his mother has always made sure that there is someone in the house with him at night to ensure that he doesn’t fall into a coma in his sleep. Both Phasma and Hux get his Dexcom blood sugar information. That way if he were to have a low blood sugar while he was asleep, and he didn’t wake up when his alarm went off, someone else would get the notification and they would wake him. He knows that it is overkill to have them here while Leia is gone, and it bothers him that his mother insists upon it, but she had told him either one of his friends stays over while she is gone, or she would ask one of her security personnel to stay with him. He knows that she cares, but it hurts to not have her there.

“Hey, no problem Ben, we are happy to stay with you. You’re our best friend, we are here for you no matter what.” Phasma says with a smile.

“Eh, I actually hate you, I’m only here because you guys have a nice mattress in your guest room.” Hux says with a thick layer of sarcasm in his voice.

“Wow, it’s nice to know I mean something to someone.” Ben says with an eye roll. Hux punches his lightly in the arm.

“Alright big guy, what’s the plan for the evening?”

“Well, I just got back from the store with lots on snacks. So, I’m up for whatever you guys want to do. Call this evening a ‘Celebration for finishing college applications.’”

“Well, in that case I think we should be total couch potatoes and do a movie night.” Phasma says.

“Yes!” Hux shouts. All the other times they have hung out over the last couple months they had all been studying for tests or working on college applications. The application due date was yesterday, so they finally get to have a break.

“Alright, let’s do it.” Ben says, turning back to his car and hopping back in as Hux and Phasma hop back into Hux’s car. Ben presses a button on the remote sitting next to his phone, watching the gate in front of their driveway slowly roll open. He turns down the driveway, beginning to contemplate what movies they could watch. The house comes into view. He presses another button on the remote, prompting the garage to begin to open. He pulls into his spot and quickly shuts off his car, stepping out and signaling to Hux that he can take Leia’s spot. As Hux pulls into the spot, Ben opens the back door and pulls his backpack out, slinging it on his shoulder before grabbing the grocery bag, closing and locking his car as Phasma and Hux get out of Hux’s car. Ben walks over to Hux and hands him the bag.

“You guys go on and head into the house, I need to grab the mail. You remember the code to get into the house yeah?” to this Phasma nods and turns toward the door in the garage that leads into the house. As Phasma types in the code and steps into the house Ben sets his backpack on the back of his car and begins to jog down the driveway. Once he reaches the mailbox, he slides his key into the slit and opens the door. He pulls out the stack of mail, large as always with a ton of mail for Leia. He sifts through it quickly, seeing if he has gotten any acceptance letters yet, though it is highly unlikely. He reaches a small manila envelope with his name on it. He looks to see who it is from, finding that it is from Beyond Type One.

 He sticks the other mail in the crook of his arm, tearing open the top of the envelope. He hadn’t wanted to sign up for this, but Leia had pressed him to do it. Encouraging him to try to make new friends. She wants him to start talking to someone else as he goes into college. She hopes that he will be able to exchange management tips with someone his own age. Ben was apprehensive in the beginning, but later decided to do it since it would be nice to talk to someone else. He loves Phasma and Hux, but sometime he feels like he has to hold back what he is feeling because he doesn’t want to be a burden. He knows that is just his anxiety talking, but it would be nice to have another friend.

 He pulls out the largest thing in the envelope, the slip with his pen pal’s information. They are from Portland, Oregon. Their birthday is April 10th, 1999, they are also a senior. They were diagnosed at six. Finally, he looks at their name:

 

Rey Kenobi


	3. My Name is: Rey Kenobi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben receives his first letter from Rey.

Hello!

My name is: _Rey Kenobi_

My age is: _17_

My favorite color is: _Green_

My favorite food is: _Macaroni and Cheese_

When I grow up I want to: _Be a mechanical engineer_

My favorite hobby: _Going on hikes_

Write a little bit more about yourself: _Hi Ben, I’m Rey. A little bit about myself… I’m a senior at Wilson High School in Portland, who it planning to attend college in the fall. In my free time I like to go on hikes and practice self-defense. I’ve lived in Portland since I was six, and my best friend’s name if Finn. My diabetic system is a Tandem T-Slim pump and a Dexcom G5. I actually only started using them last summer, even though I was diagnosed so long ago. How about you?_

_Until next time,_

_Rey_

_\---_

Ben looks at her letter, reading her fine handwriting before looking at the picture that she had placed in the envelope. He looks down at her smiling face. The photo was taken while she was walking, she is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a black sweater with back jeans. He looks down more closely and realizes she is wearing classic Star Wars vans. He lets out a soft laugh. He likes her already. He looks back up to her face. There are constellations of freckles dotting her skin. Her eyes fad from a soft brown to green as you move away from her pupils. Her lips are painted a bright red and she has winged eye makeup. He hair falls just below her shoulders. Half of her hair is pulled into a bun.

 She was absolutely beautiful. He had never seen anyone so beautiful. He was already falling for her and he hadn’t even spoken to her in person before. For all he knows she could be… He couldn’t think of what she could be while looking at her smile. She looked kind and considerate.

“Hey, Ben. Everything okay?” His head shoots up and he looks over to Hux, who is sitting at the dining room table eating a slice of pizza. His mother is gone again this weekend, so Hux agreed to sleep over until she got back. Ben gives him a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just got my first letter from my pen pal Rey. One of the things that Beyond Type One suggests is sending a photo. Hux, she’s beautiful.” He says as he hands Hux the photograph. Hux looks at it for a moment before handing it back to Ben.

“You’re right, she is beautiful. She looks nice. Also, her shoes are great.” Hux takes another bite of pizza. “You’re not falling for this girl even though you’ve never even met her are you Benny?”

“I choose not to answer that question.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to look out for you. Don’t get too into her before you even really talk to her. But I’m glad that you have finally gotten past Bazine. Everything that happened with her hit you really hard, so I’m just happy to see you feeling like you can get out there again.”

 

Ben thinks back to his time with Bazine. He had loved her. They had known each other since they were both kids. They started dating toward the end of sophomore year. They spent a majority of their time together. Talking, doing homework, watching movies. Through it all, Bazine had slowly begun to cut Ben off from Phasma and Hux, telling him that she felt like he wasn’t devoting enough time to her. He pushed them way because he loved Bazine. He was too blinded to realize how unhealthy him doing so was, and how unhealthy their relationship was.

 One night at the end of their junior year they were hanging out, watching a movie that they had both seen too many times to count. They started making out, and things got heated. They went to Ben's room to make sure that Leia wouldn’t find them. They had begun to undress each other. Ben had never done this before, so he was rushing, wanting to lose his V-card. When they were both down to their undergarments, Ben pulled away from Bazine, taking a moment to look at her before telling her that he loved her. She didn’t say anything, in fact, she grimaced. He asked her if she loved him, to which she stood up and began to get dressed. Once she was dressed, she left without another word. After that, he tried to ask her why she had left him, but she just ignored him, avoiding him at all costs. He started missing school. He had fallen into a depression episode, feeling like everything that had happened was his fault. Eventually Leia called Phasma and Hux. They knew that Bazine had forced him to push them away, so they came to him. They helped him get back on his feet, they helped him fight. It took a while for them to get back to how they were, but eventually everything worked out. Ben pushes this out of his mind, not wanting to think of this anymore.

 

“Yeah, me too.” He takes another long look at her photo before starting to decide what photo he wanted to send back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> What photo did Rey send to Ben?  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/469781804874949505/
> 
> What is a Tandem Pump?  
> https://www.tandemdiabetes.com/  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/162340761548020177/
> 
> What is a Dexcom G5?  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/232498399496061308/  
> https://www.dexcom.com/g5-mobile-cgm


	4. My Name is: Ben Solo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey receives her first letter from Ben.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! I'm sorry it took me so long to get this out! College happened and I haven't had time to update until now! This one is short and sweet, I hope you like it!

Hello!

My name is: _Ben Solo_

My age is: _17_

My favorite color is: _Red_

My favorite food is: _Pizza_

When I grow up I want to: Be a _Chemical Engineer_

My favorite hobby: _Driving and listening to music_

Write a little bit more about yourself: _Hi Rey, I’m Ben. I’m a senior at Westview High School. I am also planning on attending college in the fall. Where have you applied? During my free time I like driving my father’s Falcon and listening to music. I also spend a lot of time with my two best friends, Phasma and Hux (his first name is actually Armitage, but he prefers Hux.) I’ve been on my diabetic care systems since about a year after I was diagnosed. I am on the Omnipod and Dexcom G6. What are some things that you and Finn like to do together?_

_Ben (Also, I’m the one in the middle)_

\---

Rey looks at his handwriting, it is so precise. She re-reads his note a few times before pulling his photo out of the envelope. Ben has his arms around two people who she assumes are Phasma and Hux. Phasma is wearing a soft yellow dress and has her hand on her right hip. She has blond hair and is pulling an open mouth smile. Hux is on the other side of Ben. He is trying his best to keep a straight face. He has bright red hair and is wearing a dark blue shirt. Phasma is the tallest, and Hux is the shortest.

 She finally looks at Ben.

 

Ben has his arms around Phasma and Hux and is pulling a soft lopsided smile. He has shoulder-length raven hair that is being held away from his face by a gray beanie. He is wearing a black shirt covered by a gray sweatshirt, along with a pair of blue jeans and black vans. He has dark hazel eyes that portray his joy in the moment. He is clean shaven, and his skin is dotted with small moles. He has a prominent nose. Finally, she looks at his scar. It runs from above his right eyebrow down to below the collar of his shirt. She takes a long look at it, noticing how deep the indentation is, and how it is a light shade of pink. She looks back at the others.

 He is handsome. He looks strong, and it looks as though he is a good height. She is still looking at the photo when her phone begins to ring. She looks at the screen and see’s that it is Maz.

 

“Hey Maz, what’s up?”

“Rey, child, it looks like I am going to stay at the office pretty late tonight. We’ve got a pretty rough case here that I am working on getting sorted out. I’m sorry I can’t be there to help you celebrate getting accepted into Portland State’s Honors College.”

“It’s okay Maz, I’m just glad that staying at works means you will be helping a child in need.” Maz works with social services. That is how she found Rey when she was a child. After her parents passed away from a drug overdose, she ended up with their drug dealer, Plutt. After she got sick, he threw her out, and was eventually picked up by social services and taken to the hospital for treatment, which is when Maz was assigned her case. After watching over Rey for a period of time, Maz decide to adopt her.

“Okay hon, we will celebrate tomorrow! How about you see if Finn can sleep over tonight? You guys could go out to dinner and celebrate both of you getting into PSU.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want him here so he can keep an eye on my blood sugar?” She asks with sarcasm in her voice.

“Hey, you know I trust you, I just think you two should celebrate! You are moving up in the world.”

“Yeah, I know, I know.”

“Alright honey, I’ve got to get back to work. Keep me updated on your plans alright?”

“Okay, I love you.”

“Love you too sweetheart.” With that, Maz hangs up the phone. Rey quickly pulls up Finn’s contact and sends him a text before sliding her phone back into her pocket. She takes another look at the photograph of Ben before clipping it on the photo strip that hangs above her desk. She takes a seat and pulls out a slip of paper to write her first official letter to him.


	5. First Response

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! I hope all is well for you, and that you like this chapter.

_3-25-17_

_Ben,_

_I hope that spring is treating you well in California. Here in Oregon it is still pretty dreary. There are nice days here and there, but the weather here doesn’t really get nice for another couple months. Have you visited Oregon before?_

_Your dad has a Falcon?! That’s amazing! What year is it? I’ve always loved cars, especially Falcons.  They are so amazing to work on. I would love to take a peak under the hood of a falcon. I guess now you can see why I want to be a mechanical engineer… I love tinkering with things and building. What kind of music do you like listening to when you are driving?_

_As it turns out, Finn and I quite enjoy driving around as well, only we are in Finn’s Subaru. Either way, it is still really fun. We listen to music and drive out to Suavies Island and we just have fun and go on adventures. We’ve gone on a couple spontaneous trips, though nothing too crazy. I actually have a playlist dedicated to when we go for drives. Finn is a wonderful person, I am very lucky to have him in my life. I met him when I started elementary school. I started part way through first grade because that was when I started living with Maz (my step mother.) Finn has been there for me thru it all. I’ve included a picture of us with this letter, so you can see what he looks like. Your friends look like great people. How did you meet them?_

_I’ve applied to a few places. I applied and got into the Portland State Honors College. I’ve also applied to UC Berkeley and Purdue, as well as the Honors College at Oregon State.  I’ve heard from all of them except for the Honors College at Oregon State. That is really where I’m hoping to go. I know that UC Berkeley and Purdue both have better mechanical engineering programs, but OSU is close to home, and I don’t want to go too far away from Maz and Finn. Finn in the main reason that I applied to Portland State since that is where he is going (he is planning to study theater.) Where have you applied?_

_I’m jealous of your diabetic care system, I’ve been wanting both the Omnipod and the Dexcom G6 for a while now, but since I only got my devices a couple years ago, I have to wait a bit longer before I can switch over to a different system. I did talk to my endocrinologist about the G6, but she said there is no point in switching over because I have a perfectly functional system at the moment. Also, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your diagnosis story?_

_Until next time,_

_Rey_

_\---_

He looks down at the photo. It shows Rey and Finn at their Junior Prom. Rey is wearing a floor-length, sleeveless dress with purple frill on it. Finn is wearing a dark red suit that matches the shade of her dress. He has a black button up on underneath. They are wearing matching black converse. He smiles at their choice of shoes. Finn looks like a nice person. He has hair that is cut close on the sides, and longer on top. He looks at Rey; she has a wide smile on her face and her hair is pulled up into a circular braid. They look so happy.

 

He takes the photo and puts it on the cork board above his desk along with the other photo she sent him. He looks back down at the letter, reading it again. She asks about his diagnosis story. He leans back in his chair and rubs his face, taking a moment to trace the scar that penetrates his skin. That day… that day was one of the hardest days he has ever faced. He looks at the photo of Han and him that sits on his desk. He still blames himself for that day, even though he also knows there is nothing he could have done.

 

'Do I tell her?' He asks himself. He looks back up at her smiling face before standing from his desk. He picks up his sweater and steps out of his room. He quickly strides through the house and steps into the cool night. The sun is setting, and the California streets are finally starting to cool down. He walks down the driveway, opening the gate from the panel that sits by the mailbox and steps out onto the street. He will answer her as soon as he knows how.

 


End file.
